


The Captives of Time

by VTae



Series: The Time Traveler Chronicles [2]
Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dark, Bathing/Sleeping together, Bullying, Creation, Dense Kuroko, Destruction, Elemental Magic, F/M, Fantasy, Fluff and Smutt, Identity Issues, Jamais Vu and Deja Vu, KurokoTetsuya-Complex, M/M, Multiple Plots, Orphism, POV Multiple, Psychological Horror, Pushy Akashi, Stubborn Kuroko, Sweet/Hot, Tags May Change, Teen Angst, Time Travel, warfare
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-03
Updated: 2016-01-05
Packaged: 2018-05-10 21:25:28
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 4
Words: 18,065
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5601613
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VTae/pseuds/VTae
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Akashi and Kuroko enters a new realm of world and - relationship. In the midst of whirling stories, confrontations and deception, they surge forward, not faltering to the devices of Nature. Or, that is until Kuroko finds himself face to face with the cruel Fate, detaining him as Time's captive - the very face of his lover, Akashi, but with a twisted trait. Confusion stirs him - as his heart as well. Pain is raw, and Akashi is drowned in his sorrows. So, how will they get through all of this, when the strange world is cruel to them?</p><p>
<sub><b>Akashi to Kuroko:</b><i>"So, for now, you still have your full freedom," I said, leaning closer to him as I draw butterfly kisses on his tense shoulder blade. Slowly pulling off his trousers, while he shivers against my flesh.</i></sub>



<sub><i>'Soon, you will be fully mine.'</i></sub></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If you haven't read the first series, then please feel free to read the summary through this first chapter. Please enjoy!

  


* * *

* * *

  


  


__

#### In the Beginning...

__

  


_At the rising of the bloody Red Moon, the Earth begun to fall into a great despair, enshrouded in the dark acrid fumes of death wafting throughout the air, leaving all the humans in their misery. At the behest of Haizaki Shougo and Hanamiya Makoto, they had woken up Atlas from its slumber and all the blood that were showered upon the dark loams gave rise to the mirrored personas, who had feasted over their brothers and sisters, to fully gain and possessed true Reason and Rhyme._

  


__

_Soon, the whole Earth is cloaked in darkness, distorting Time and Dimension, however, the Traveler of Time had finally turned his pocket watch to Akashi Seijuuro, the chosen new Traveler, to save his own Time by traveling to a different time and world, where the **Ancient Gods** dwell and purge their terror to avoid the destruction of their own world, worse - universe. Akashi accepted the task and together with his other half, Kuroko Tetsuya, and with the others such as Kise Ryouta, Aomine Daiki, Midorima Shintaro, and Murasakibara Atsushi, they had embarked in a different dimension and time, that unknown to them, will reveal their true identities and nature._

  


  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **This is purely a Fan Fiction. Kuroko no Basket is not my property, and neither do the characters under it.**  
>  If you have any thoughts regarding the story, please feel free to leave your professional commentaries. Thank you very much! Hopefully, you enjoyed the story!


	2. The Travelers

  


* * *

* * *

  


  


  
The mackerel sky overhead, with its painting of glossy tangerine and honey hues, draws in in a blink of an eye. How soon was it that I had traveled so far in the breaking of the sparkling dawn? Leaving at the sun's dying amber drowning in the west, then, be hidden in the coves of darkness, tucked away until the love-star appears, fishing it out as if some kind of a pocket watch for the whole earth to see and admire? 

  
Quietly taking in a lungful of air, I could only gaze ahead of us at the looming dark green hills that hold the abundant lushes. In the distance, the whitewashed twin towers of the Arena glimmer against the amber light, burning as if wax candles in the murky purple horizon. It has been months now since I had prepared for such an important event. The fate of our Kingdom will be determined with my victory or defeat. 

  
"Kagami, please be mindful of our higher goal. Friendship is fine, but the glory of the Princess Riko is our top priority," came the ringing voice of my senior Koganei Shinji, his rich brown hair the color of the sun baked loam seemed to burn against the fiery light of the sun, chestnut brown eyes sparking of vehemence, capturing mine of which I could only return with a hard nod. 

  
A grim straight line breaks on my lips, clutching hard the leather reins, I could only huff in agreement, a hard gaze shot towards the golden Arena. 

  
"I understand. Toou will not easily give up in their ranks, I wager that they will send one of their allied schools, perhaps, the most well-known strong Knight-student in the present time, Himuro Tatsuya, my _dearest_ half-brother," I simply said, savoring every words with pure disgust, as I grip hard the saddle's reins, quietly trudging the last hill of our travel before reaching the Sacred Sanctuary of the Knights. 

  
My companion, Koganei hurriedly ambles beside me, holding out the reins of his horse as he sets his calm and yet, scrutinizing gaze upon my face. 

  
"Kagami, I expect you to keep your pride as a bonafide student-knight of Seirin, not some desperate curmudgeon, who will fall into the heat of wounded pride and revenge," his fiery gaze sweeps my face, however, I was already trained to keep up the mask of a hard faced man, not easily faltered by the sharp tongue of my senior student-knight, Koganei. 

  
"I understand. Tatsuya is mature enough to think of this circumstance as a way of revenge. My mind is already made up for the Princess Riko, of to whom I had sworn my faithful allegiance," I answered in a crisp tone, returning his fiery gaze with a steely-eye. 

  
The senior smirks, turning his chestnut eyes at the band of student-knights riding on their saddled black and brown horses, the silver and red armor mails gleaming against the ruddy light, like diamonds against the fiery chasm. Their silent nods and ardent eyes reflect the burning desire to bring victory before the feet of our Kingdom's Princess Riko. Soon, Koganei turns back to me with a cool gaze, straightening up his posture as he rides his dark mane stallion. 

  
"Remember that you are not a fighter, Kagami Taiga, Princess Riko expects that everyone of us will act righteously before the student-knights of her sister, Princess Momoi. She is known to bewitch anyone who will see her beauty, it is rumored that she practices the dark arts of the Goddess of Love. We must tread carefully!" Koganei quickly grips my right arm, peering at me a steely gaze, of which I caught in pure astonishment for this is the first time I had heard such rumor regarding the Princess Momoi. 

  
My senior could only stare back at me with disbelief, a knowing smile now spreading on his thin pale lips. 

  
"Princess Momoi had been sent by the King Kagetora in the mystic Island of Teiko to study witchcraft, as she was the unwanted fruit to another Lady, whilst the legitimate Crown Princess Riko had been nursed in the kingdom of Seirin, who had been given the proper learning she must need as the future Queen!" my senior hisses, cupping his right hand over his mouth, chestnut brown eyes that were brimming of indignation as he speaks a long lost tale which is not supposed to be uttered nonsensically. 

  
"It is no wonder the Princess Momoi nurses great hatred towards her half-sister since her very presence is the sole reason for her exile. However, the Toou Kingdom had taken her under their wing, offering her their sovereign, believing that she is fit to rule all the kingdoms over Princess Riko. As for this moment," he continues, drawing closer to me, his warm tangerine breath damping against my skin. "It is rumored that the two Princesses are engaged in a cold war, despite of the civility and pleasantry they would show in public gatherings. So, Kagami, do not falter in front of their princess! Remember that you only serve one princess, and that is Princess Riko!" 

  
I could only quietly nod in agreement, however, my mind is already swarmed of ill thoughts concerning this little feud between the two Princesses. In the thousand years, the Earth had been peaceful, in agreement, and in harmony. Magic and Reason had been in equal, but as I look ahead, I cannot deny how my heart is suddenly gripped, crushed and torn in fear at the prospect of this revelation. Perhaps, the hands of Destiny has finally turned the wheels towards a bleaker future? 

  
_Just like my dear half-brother, who had betrayed my own trust. Who would have thought that he would choose a different school-kingdom over his birthplace?_

  
Slowly, shaking my head, I gripped the reigns against my palms. The throbbing muscle felt raw, warm... as if it had been at that moment, when I had pledged before the Crown Princess Riko and of how, at that same, fateful day I had lost my dearest half-brother. 

  
_"We will never become brothers, Taiga..."_

  
His words were like salt rubbed against my open wound, making me grimace in utter disgust and loathing. Gritting my teeth, I gripped the reigns tighter, almost digging the soft leather gloves. 

  
_"How I hated you with every fibers of my flesh, Taiga. Your very existence is my bane. You were never my brother... And we will never become one, never... Remember that, Taiga..."_

  
_So be it, brother... So be it, Tatsuya..._

  


  


  
  


* * *

  


  
The fire cackles in the hearth, its golden, tangerine light casting away the unwanted shadows that seemed to dance, claw, and snatch anything that reaches it. Softly, breathing in the clammy air surrounding me, hands clasped together, fingers laced and intertwined as if in fervent silent payer, I draw in a mouthful of warm air, slowly filling my lungs as I close my eyes, muttering unspoken words in the darkness. 

  
Soon, I will be out of the cold air under the gazing white and red hot stars. I will be bathed in the golden light amidst a thousand of spectators, my hands and knees will start to gather strength and agility once more, however, it will never be the same game sport that I had grown accustomed to. And sooner - 

  
Snapping my velvet black eyes open, I could see the fiery tongue of the fire lapping upwards, rising its white smoke in the air, filling my nostrils with the undeniable warmth and familiarity. _Sooner... I will need to see you once more, Taiga._

  
Clenching both of my hands, I utter a silent prayer, sensing how my chest starts to tighten, my stomach lurching as my thoughts starts to drift into the mist of time. Soon, the memories looms over in my mind, trapping me once more into a long forgotten dreams, no, perhaps a nightmare, that how I wished I had never had. 

  


>   
> 
> 
>   
>  _It has been ten years of moons and suns that I had spent my boyhood years in the blessed and abundant green hills and blue mountains of the kingdom of Seirin. Magic and life bursts anywhere, filling my body with burning vitality as if I could accomplish everything my hands and mind could take. I was a prodigy, that I am perfectly sure and satisfied. Life had been promising to me, a sparkling tomorrow with endless possibilities. Everyone had high hopes for me, seeing the glitter and admiration in their eyes, especially in Alex's light golden eyes that glimmer as the sunshine, I feel as if I had been the most blessed and perfect compared with the rest. She had been both my guardian and Teacher, who had taught and guided me since in the age of seven. Her trust and devotion to me had been a great comfort in all of those years since my Father, a well-known noble and merchant, had always been away in far lands, seeking precious goods for his business, meeting new ties to strengthen his power and influence._
> 
>   
>  _"Tatsuya, you will know what you are supposed to do with your keen eyes and calm frame of mind in the future. In the near ceremony, you will be given an option to choose your own weapon and a place you wish to go to, however..." her words trailed off as the sunshine in her light golden eyes darken, turning into a murky hue._
> 
>   
>  _"Your path to self-assurance will start to crumble as you come face to face with a peerless knight, who will eventually succeed your achievements. You will need to review your choices and beliefs before you decide in your goal, or else - " quickly, she seizes both of my arms, a sharp look in her murky golden eyes as she held mine, terror and fear brimming in them. "Blood will scatter in the golden ground of Seirin!"_
> 
>   
>  _Her words sent a cold shiver down into my spine, however, I could only laughed at her, confident that I will be able to accomplish my tasks without any hindrances - not that I was confident, but I was dazzling of talent and power that everyone had given hope to defeat me._
> 
>   
>  _"How could it be, Alex?" I asked her, softly brushing her hands away as I fixed her with a cool and knowing gaze. "It is quite impossible for anyone to surpass my abilities and skills! I am a descendant of the Himuro! I am the only one in this bloodline who can succeed and perhaps - " a wide grin spreads upon my lips. "Become the High King and rule the entire Earth with Princess Riko."_
> 
>   
>  _She could only turn to me round-eyed, surprised had washed away all her certainty. Shaking her blond locks, she fixed a steely stare at me once more. "So be it, Tatsuya, but you will surely suffer in the end. If you think you are the only male in the Himuro bloodline, you will have to seek your Father and ask him of the truth. Your hopes might end up in the mud, broken and torn, for I fear for the choices you will make in the future..."_
> 
>   
>  _"Impossible..." Turning away sharply from her, I could only gather all my thoughts in one piece, trying to make sense of her words. Alex is an Oracle, a Priestess serving under the God of Light, who never fails in her prophecies and readings for the future. Hearing her spoke of my bleak future was enough to cripple down all of my hopes for my bright and glorious tomorrow. "Impossible!" shaking away all of her ill-words, I could only fixed her a hard look, mustering all the benevolence and patience I could take._
> 
>   
>  _"Tell me... Tell me, Alex, the Great Priestess of Light," I continued, taking in a dosed of fresh air, settling down the fiery anger bubbling inside me. "Who?" I softly ask, in a soft feathery manner that was so faint, she could hardly hear me. "Who will it be? Who is it?" I repeated myself, clenching both of my hands into hard fist. "Who is the one who will hinder me from my glorious future, Alex?"_
> 
>   
>  _However, she could only shake her head, a grim look shadowing her handsome features. "I am afraid the oracle has not revealed the identity of the person, I could only read of what will occur in the future, but not the person, however," quickly she shots up a fixed glare at me. "He will be the Knight of Light, while you will be of the endless Shadow Knight - in the far future, blood feud will ensue and either of you must yield or else, Creation and Destruction will succumb your very souls."_
> 
>   
>  _No sooner, after Alex's dark readings had my father returned home, bringing along with him a boy the same as I was, ruddy and black spiky hair with bushy brows, his carmine eyes were brimming of promising vitality and talent, ogling at my very sight with great curiosity. My heart started to stir, a hard pounding sound that reverberates within my whole flesh, almost breaking my ears in one split as my gaze sweeps his whole being. He was no more different from me, our body built, height, however, his muscles were more well-formed, that I could not stifle a snort._
> 
>   
>  _"Father, who is he?" I asked with an innocent air, turning towards my father, a man of whom I had inherited my velvet black eyes, straight dark hair, however his does not cover the other part of his eye._
> 
>   
>  _Before returning my inquiring gaze, my father reaches out his right arm over the ruddy head's shoulder, a fond gaze sweeping at him that I could not helped, but wrinkle a frown upon my temples. "Tatsuya," he softly spoke my name laced with love that could almost melt my heart. "I want you to meet your half-brother, Taiga," he continues in a soft and lulling voice that could make anyone fall asleep, however, his very words were enough to make my blood congeal with pure loathing, my mind was soon pulled into the vortex of memories, of which Alex's ill-words swirl inside my head, like a curse._
> 
>   
>  _"Half-brother, you say, Father?" my words were sharp, unadulterated with hatred, almost in a spat of which made my father shot to me a threatening, glare look in his velvet black eyes. 'Don't you dare start, Tatsuya...' his eyes spoke those quiet, sizzling words, muffled in a grim line of his lips._
> 
>   
>  _"But Father! How is he my half-brother?!" I ask, turning towards the ruddy head boy with a contempt look in my eyes, of which he returned with a surprised look washing his suntanned face, before meeting his deathly glare._
> 
>   
>  _How could he?! My heart was furious! How could he return with a bastard?! And he will be the one to hinder me from my glorious future?! Is Destiny mocking my very existence?!_
> 
>   
>  _"Tatsuya, now is not the time for this. Be modest and respect your half-brother!" he hisses between gritted teeth, his milky pallor was drenched in crimson red, hands were trembling, trying to muster all the patience._
> 
>   
>  _"How about my respect?! How could you go home after so many moons and suns and return with a bastard like him?!" My heart was throbbing of so much anger, my mind clouded in dark red mists, completely blinded me with utter hatred. So! He is the one!_
> 
>   
>  _"Tatsuya! Watch your bloody filthy mouth!" he hisses, face contorted now in anger as he sweeps aside the bastard, stepping forward before me._
> 
>   
>  _"Do you expect me to easily accept a bastard like him for my brother when you had been freely flirting with his harlot of a mother!? Now, where is the respect in that?! How about my own Mother?! How could you easily replaced her when she just died last - "_
> 
>   
>  _A loud slapping sound coupled with a stinging and hard hand suddenly found my right cheek, almost burned my flesh at the sudden impact._
> 
>   
>  _"Don't you dare continue that, Tatsuya or I will lock you up in your room!" his words were enough to blow my heart and shred it into pieces._
> 
>   
>  _So! You have chosen him, a bastard of a son, over to me, your legitimate one, Father?_
> 
>   
>  _"Go back inside your room, Tatsuya. You will not get out unless I tell you so!"_
> 
>   
>  _So be it! So this is how I will end up!? So be it!_
> 
>   
>  _In the heat of my relentless fury and grudge, I stormed away, however, I did not fail to turn towards him with a sour gleam in my eyes. 'You shall pay for this, bastard.'_
> 
>   
> 
> 
>   
> 

  


Pulled out from the storm of my dark swirling clouds of memories, I swing round on my heels, face tightened of the glorious moment I had been dreaming of for the past years.

  


"So be it, Taiga... _So be it...!"_ a grim line upon my lips as I clenched my hands now into hard fist. 

  
"My anger is stronger than the bond and promised we had shared, Taiga. I am sorry to fail you, however, I cannot quench the burning grudge eating me away..." I whisper between clenched teeth, staring at the burning applewood turning into charred coal, crumbling into fine, black dust and later on, to soot. No sooner had I've been in my dark thought that I hear the baleful words of my Princess, as clear and yet, dark as the rolling storm clouds inside my head. 

  


_"You will kill your half-brother, Tatsuya!"_ her soft voice rings into my mind, like a whispering wind. Slowly, shaking my head, I could only pressed my temples with my right hand.

  
_"Kill him... Kill...!_

  


  


* * *

* * *

  


  
_"Finally, the Sacred Sanctuary of the Fighters, the Golden Arena..."_

  
Koganei breathed out those words, savoring it in his mouth as we stride towards the vast arching double iron door leading into the colossal structure, our band of student-knights in their bright silver and red armor mails sparkle against the burning torches hanged against the ancient walls of the citadel. 

  
Overhead us lay the wicked twilight, the mackerel hue had now ebbed into deep and black ambers, leaving a tint of the baleful night on our backs as we swarm into the den of flashing golden lights. The tepid air soon washed away the stinging cold hanging on our smooth faces as we alighted down from our loyal companions of the road. As soon as I stepped on the ground, a coal black haired with keen eyes hidden behind clear round-rimmed eyeglasses meets us. His woodland green armor mail seemed to glisten like a Jade stone against the murmuring licking golden fire. His hard and sober face lit up upon our sight, quickly striding towards us. 

  
"Kagami! Koganei! At last, you have arrived! I thought you would never make it before supper!" our student-knight Captain greets us, taking my hands into him in a wild handshake of which I returned with the same vigor. 

  
"The road had been long for us, Captain, however," my eyes drift towards the others standing around us, gawking at our presence as if some kind of a band of curios men from the road of expedition. 

  
"Where are the others?" Koganei echoed out my thoughts, his dark chestnut brown eyes sweeping around us, trying to find the familiar faces amidst the sea of strangers. 

  
"They are in the Private Chamber assigned for us Seirin's student-knights," Captain Hyuga answered with a smile. "Boy! Please look after the horses of my fellows, make sure to keep the horses well-tended and comfortable in their stables as the night seemed to drag in a frosty night!" billowed the coal black head Captain, of which a flaxen haired mousy boy quickly answers to his summon. "Yes, sir!" answered the lad, and in the snap of his left hand finger, a band of five others came forward, taking the reins from our hands and leading our dear friends in their comfortable shelters. 

  
"Now, let us proceed! We must rest! Follow me!" he continues with an important air surrounding him. The band of us quietly followed behind him, passing along the crowd of our fellow student-knights wearing different hues of armor mails, until I spotted the deep royal purple and silver mail armor glistening against the wispy fire disappearing into the black cavern. 

  
_'We shall see each other soon, Tatsuya...'_

  


  


* * *

* * *

  


  
The brush of darkness soon left not a drop of morning light in the horizon. Now, the fierce wind rushes throughout the vile earth, smothering the still silver apple trees that blossomed in the orchard, ripping away its leaves, tearing apart until no more like a speck of dust in the air. A deep droning sound hums in the warm chamber, bathing the indigo and crimson draperies that hang low, their silver threads weeping on the hard cold stone floor. 

  
"Kill the one and only peerless Knight of Seirin. Kill him tonight at the Golden Arena, do you understand, Shadow Wielder?" her soft and sweet voice, akin to a harp's melodious lullaby rings through the empty darkness except for the flickering orange golden fire lapping furiously in the rose candle waxes and her trusted dark haired chamberlain garbed in its rich brown silk robes standing at the foot of her throne. 

  
Once more, kneeling down before the fair maiden with straight carnation locks pulled up in a smooth and fixed bun, a gold coronet set before her head, her overflowing silver robes that seemed to cascade down on the ground as she sits in her throne, I am sworn to devote my service in exchange of a higher goal. 

  
"Yes, my Princess," clutching my right hand over my chest, I breathed in the air of resolution, coating my lungs with certainty. 

  
"On your feet," the chamberlain commands, of which I gladly receives, slowly rising up as I see the beauty before me that could snatch any man's hearts at bay upon her sight. However, her charm and beauty lay no effect to the being of Darkness like me. 

  
"My half-sister has been sending me her trusted espionage that I cannot helped, but feed their very souls to your comrades, my dearest Mayuzumi," she softly chuckles, an all-knowing smile upon her soft pink lips, before she tenses her face into a serious mask. 

  
"Mayuzumi, I expect you to quietly do the honor of eliminating Riko's knight. I am not assured of Tatsuya, his heart is not pure to our goal so I would entrust you this task. Fulfill it," her voice sounded soft as the pinkish fluff of clouds looming over the rich rolling lushes in the morning, however, her liquid pale pink eyes glint of mischief, of the darkness that reflects the vile nature hidden within her despite of her fair countenance. 

  
"I understand, Princess Momoi," bowing before her, a Princess of Darkness, of that I am greatly assured as her heart nurses great hatred towards her half-sister, Princess Riko, a valiant fair maiden, however with a strength of a man. As my Princess mastered the Arts of witchcraft and sorcery, her half-sister had been taught the Arts of Warcraft, manipulating strength, agility and her charming wit, of which earned her the title Princess Riko, the Lightning Warrior. 

  
"Tonight, I will read the stars and see some signs for our plans," slowly, pulling myself up, a smirk forms on her lips as she caught the surprise in my ebony black eyes. "You will have your other half of the bargain if you fulfill this mission tonight. I promise to you, you will resurrect your Shadow Clan, and perhaps, call forth the God of the Night, Darkness, and Destruction," she continues, her soft voice seemed to ring like the distant bells. 

  
"I will not let you down, my Princess Momoi," a knowing smile appears on my lips as her words of promise sinks down into my very being, seeping hard into the firm bones of my flesh, bubbling out the red blood running into my veins. 

  
My God, _my Love_... My heart leaps up at the very prospect of seeing him once more, how my groins and innards tremble at the very thought of holding you as my own. 

  
_Soon...! Soon...! You will be mine...! And I will not need the help of **Destiny** and **Time**! I will grasp you away from your vile brother!_

  
"Of course!" she sharply cries, quickly capturing my surprise as she sees me deep in my mystic thought. "The Gods will be our contenders," she continues, caressing the smooth golden arms of her throne. "Gods are cruel, spiteful, envious, and powerful, Mayuzumi..." she speaks, tasting each words in her mouth grimacingly, a frown creasing her handsome face. 

  
"How do we kill a God? Do you know?" she turns to me, a frenzy gleam in her pale pink eyes. 

  
_Kill the Gods?_ Her words sent a shiver down my spine. Thinking such a revolutionary thought and asked it in the open is enough to make my heart pound once more. However, what if someone hears her words? Would the Gods punish us for our impudence? 

  
"I do not know, my Princess Momoi," I answered in a calm manner, mastering the panic rising from the pit of my stomach. 

  
A loud deep cackle fills the clammy air, sending a ringing sensation into my ears as I watch her bend down her head, clutching her stomach as she cannot contain the laughter. 

  
"Kill the Gods! Why, that is truly impossible, of course! How could we kill the Gods, who created this beautiful and bountiful Earth?" slowly, wiping away the tears gathered in the corner of her eye, she holds her chin up before me, _like a real queen should be_ , fixing her cold and calm gaze at me. 

  
"Kill Kagami Taiga. Make sure you purged his very soul so he will never had the chance to ever see the light of Life ever again!" 

  


A wide leer breaks forth on my lips, the babbling mirth spreading throughout my body, sending my blood gushing wildly into my veins.

  


"As you wish, my Princess." At my command, the shadows soon gathers around me, like my beloved, cloaking me from head to toe into the slumber of the dead night, leaving the Princess all alone, with a playful smirk upon her lips. 

  


  


* * *

* * *

  


  
The soft and smooth silk cushions kiss our frosty skin as we settled ourselves down in the deep crimson couch, piles of small round velvet pillows lay still on our backs, comforting us from the hard, cold and long journey we had embarked. No sooner had we simmer, when the wooden door lay open, revealing a band of chambermaids in their clean white robes, carrying with them a tray of the steaming bowls of soup, and other palatable delicacies of which I had failed to name since I had been almost lulled to sleep due to the warmth and comforts of the place. 

  
"Kagami! You should eat! Now's not the time to sleep! Later on you will walk out of the golden arena and fight for the honor of the Princess Riko!" my senior Koganei bursts out, elbowing me on the right arm as I attempted to draw my eyes close to slumber. 

  
"Allow him to sleep, Koganei, he looks fagged after the relentless journey. Give him a breathing!" the Captain speaks, raising his voice amidst the clanking bowls, silver spoons and plates. 

  
"I am perfectly fine, Captain. I just need some rest since I was not able to sleep well last night," I said huskily, sitting up as I press my throbbing brow with my fingers. 

  
"As expected of Kagami, I knew you were not able to sleep well for this special occasion, however, remember that health is wealth!" Koganei chirps, raising his right arm over my shoulder, pulling me towards the table where the steaming nourishments lay await. "And food is life!" he quips, of which earned him a hearty laugh from the others. Soon, the delicious aroma of the steaming Rose Tea and beef soup filled my nostrils, making my stomach groan in hunger and my mouth water. 

  
"Here, Kagami! Eat! Nourish yourself for the battle to come! We can't allow our peerless knight to die of famishment!" a gruff voice billows, handling me a steaming cup of the Rose Tea, of which I immediately gulp down in one sip, surprising myself of how truly starving and thirsty I had been throughout the evening. 

  
"Himuro Tatsuya was your half-brother, correct?" a deep voice suddenly breaks the laughter, turning the merriment away into an awkward dead silence. All pair of eyes soon turn towards the coffee haired student-knight standing across me, whose ashen white face flushed pink as he noticed how he had captured the attention of the people around him. 

  
"Um..." slowly, turning away his coal black eyes from me, he curls his right hand into fist and coughs through it, calming his wracking nerves, before returning our curios gaze. "I am new and I don't quite know what really is happening, so I was just kind of curios about this whole thing," he continues in a soft manner, and then quickly shifts his eyes away once more. 

  
"Young lad! Young lad!" my senior Koganei clicks his tongue, slowly approaching the coffee-brown haired boy with a steaming cup of Rose Tea on his right hand. "Life is never fun if there are no stories like this!" he quips, however, my ears suddenly flares hot akin to the fiery brazen bull upon his words. 

  
"Koganei! Watch out your tongue, you fool!" Captain Hyuga quickly speaks, his lips set on a grim line, turning his sharp coal black eyes towards his companion. "Now is not the time for this. Now," slowly, turning round on his heels, he fixes me a commanding gaze. "Kagami, go to your own sleeping quarter. Rest for awhile and await as I will call you for your battle later." 

  
With a nod, I quietly put down the empty cup of Rose Tea and immediately turn my eyes towards the door, ignoring the pain pricking in my chest. 

  
"You stupid Koganei!" Captain Hyuga's sharp voice ring in my ears before I could softly close the wooden door behind me, muffling out the unpleasant words that would have reached my ears. 

  


  


* * *

* * *

  


  


_"So, how are my daughters, Kiyoshi?"_

  
The vast expanse of the pitch black sky dotted of the luminous white and red hot stars twinkling from the distant kingdoms of the Gods stood open in the balcony, where my dearest high King Aida Kagetora stands up. The golden fire flitters against the biting cool wind, brushing away the dark brown strands of mane covering his high and proud temples. The lines of many years were apparent on the corners of his eyes, proving the ages of wise ruling he had over the whole Earth. His calico cream and gold robes adorned of laurels and his crown jutted of pure Amethyst and Ruby stones seemed to radiate against the fluttering shafts of golden light. 

  
Before the High King, I stood kneeling down on the cold stone floor, together with my trusted brother Knight, Izuki Shun, offering ourselves to his service and goodwill. He is the symbol of Peace, Justice, Power, Unity, Freedom and Sovereign of the whole Earth, however, the times had changed since the birth of his two daughters, who will perhaps change the course of Time. 

  
"Princess Riko had sent her peerless knight, Kagami Taiga, a student-knight to represent her goodwill while Princess Momoi had sent her champion, Himuro Tatsuya," Izuki's steady voice breaks the crispy wind, resonating with the soft murmurs of the fire that seems to sing from the hearth. 

  
"The half-brothers engaging in a reenactment of battle? Aren't my daughters trying to tell me something, Kiyoshi, Izuki?" his rich baritone voice is the contrast of Izuki's thin, steady voice, that seemed to awake the glowworms stirring in the tender green leaves of the Willows below us. 

  
"The Princesses are ever watchful and alert of each other's actions, my siege, my King. We are not assure of their current deed," I answered, keeping my head low as I kneel before him. 

  
"Arise, my trusted knights," he softly speaks, slowly we stand on our feet, turning up to our King with a kind and gentle smile on his face. "The time will arrive when I will need to choose who will succeed my throne. It is a shame that I cannot produce a heir," his voice is thick and ripe with sadness, slowly turning towards the vast universe, he lifts up his sylphlike arms above. "The Gods has finally ceased to trust us humans, stripping me of a son to continue my own bloodline. Perhaps the era of women has finally arrive to rule the Earth!" he cries, his doleful milky coal black eyes were lamenting at the failures he has as a King. 

  
Far away, a white comet passes by amidst the velvet black sky, vanishing into unknown realms, leaving a trail of gold and silver dust behind it. 

  
"However, my bloodline will continue to live through this special occasion," slowly, he turns towards us, a soft grin spreading on his lips. "The time has finally arrive. Now, call forth the warriors to step out as worthy kings of this era, Kiyoshi." 

  


  


* * *

* * *

  


The loud shrill cry of the trumpet turned my ears red hot. Slowly, gathering a lungful of air, I stride across the cobble towards the arching doorway, stopping before the line between the gathering shadows and the glimmering light. Before me stood the vast field of the Arena that seemed to simmer down its golden ground in the orange shafts of light that dance from the torches hanged against the ancient stanchions.

  
"It is time, Kagami. Do not falter now," the coal black head Captain pats my shoulder, producing a clanking sound as he shakes my silver and red mail armor. Breathing in a heavy dosage of clammy air, I returned his hard and determined gaze with the same intensity, before turning towards the opposite arching doorway. There in his magnificent silver and purple mail armor he stood, fixing me with his usual cool gaze. However, no one knows what lies beyond those ebony black eyes that had always haunted me in my slumber. 

  
_You never changed, Tatsuya. As usual, wearing the same cool look on your face despite of the burning hatred you have against me._ Quietly, I could only clench my hands into fist, a habit of which I had been doing since our feud. 

  
"Bring his silver sword and shield!" shouted my senior Koganei amidst the loud murmurs and cackling fire resounding within the thick walls of the Arena. In the distance, I could see the throng of spectators quickly filling up the seats. _Nobles, noveau riches, sons of petty kings and land lords who are here to witness the fate of the two Princesses, however, I will make sure to meet their expectations._

  
"Kagami, take this," Koganei quickly hands over the silver sword to my hand, its hilt felt hard and smooth, quite heavy as I start to turn it around my hand, testing its weight. My senior gives me an approving nod before turning his chestnut brown eyes to my contender. "He uses a bow and arrow, a fearsome and poisonous arrow might await you, however, with your agility and power, he is no match for you in close combat," he murmurs in a soft voice as the moaning fire in the torches. 

  
"Kagami, keep your wits alert with you at all times! He might be hiding a terrible weapon, or worse could par with you in close combat. The possibilities are endless when it comes to the student-knights of Princess Momoi, they are known as the worse and cunning fighters in this field. Perhaps, they might also include dark magic," Captain Hyuga hisses between gritted teeth, his milky face set in a hard frame as his ebony black eyes stare at Tatsuya. 

  
"Understood, Captain." 

  
"Knights of the Arena! Step out and meet each other!" the adjudicator calls us forth, his voice akin to the blowing trumpet sound. In his signal, both of us at the same moment step towards the golden light, slowly walking with a fixed glare at each other, however, our eyes speak more than to stare. 

  
_'So, Tatsuya, this is what you have been waiting all along. A fight between us half-brothers?'_

  
_'What about you, Taiga? Haven't you prayed for this day to come as well? When you can finally draw out your sword to me?_

  
Gripping the silver hilt of the sword, I sweep my steely gaze all over him. He had improved after all those years. Look at how fine you had become, Tatsuya. My muscles and bones tensed at the sight of him, quietly admiring how his body had ripen to manhood. 

  
"At my signal," the adjudicator raises his right arm, drawing the spectators in a soft gasp as the moment comes to fruition. "Set on!" 

  


  


  


* * *

* * *

  


  
The whole arena soon starts to throw their bloodlust cheer, their faces drawn of excitement as the two fighters stood in their fighting stance, their armors of silver, red and purple gleam against the golden light. Above, in the private balcony overlooking the whole vast expanse of Arena is the High King seated down on his high throne of gold attended to by his faithful and fierce knights Kiyoshi Teppei and Izuki Shun. 

  
_Ssssoooo? This is what you have been waiting for, High King Kagetora?_

  
I curl my lips into a shadowy grin, casting my ever watchful eyes from the darkness towards the golden field where my prey stands alert, however - not so alert as he could sense my presence. 

  
_Such a fine knight for the Princess Riko, however, you will never see the breaking dawn again._

  
Slowly, raising my right arm towards the knight with the silver and purple mail armor, I closed my eyes and utter a silent spell. Bleak and wraithlike mist crawls out from my palms, slithering its way towards the golden arena. The golden light and the two stunning fighters had caught the fullest attention of the spectators, oblivious of the shadows wounding its way towards Tatsuya's back, slipping quietly, as if a phantom worm in its white arrow. 

  
Slowly, finally able to cast the poisonous shadow about to burst out every ounce of life to the peerless knight, I open my eyes, a triumphant smile spreading like oil upon my face as I see my task is finished. 

  
_Now, make sure you aim for his heart, Himuro Tatsuya._

  
As if an answer to my silent prayer, Tatsuya bends down on his right knee, right arm clutching the bow with the poisonous arrow's head in its ready aim, the other pulling up the string. The peerless knight Kagami is on its fighting stance, right hand tightly clutching the silver sword whilst the left hand his armor of dragon's scale. 

  
_Armor or not, peerless Knight, your death is already secured now. So long, Kagami Taiga! So long, Princess Riko of the Seirin Kingdom!_

  


  


  


* * *

* * *

  


  
_"No! Taiga! Tatsuya!"_

  
The dreaded present the liquid mirror of Fate had shown me sent a cold shiver down in my spine, gripping my whole body with absolute fear. _The oracle! Is it finally happening?!_

  
Quickly leaping up on my feet, the lavender incense filling with its white smoke the golden temple of the God of Light, I hurried pass the silver draperies hanging against the royal walls. The vast hall of the Seirin Palace is filled of the faint buttery glow coming from the light candelabras in every columns. The whole palace seemed to glow like yellow hot stars despite of the wicked shadows playing at bay. 

  
_The Shadows! The Shadows! No wonder I cannot see the future! It is the work of the Shadows! Whoever is in control of them nurses great evil in their hearts!_

  


Finally reaching the tall, narrow white double door two silver and red armored Knights where on stand as guards for the Princess. "I need to see the Princess! Quick!" I demanded. 

  
Casting anxious glances at each other, seeing me in my most dreadful look, the older man with dark brown moustache wildly shifts towards the door, hastily opening it for my arrival. No sooner I found myself in the warm chamber of the Princess where indigo draperies hang low, and a low fire burns in the hearth, muffling its silent droning song. 

  
"Priestess Alex? I hear your cry of distress. Is it the black oracle you had told me last time?" the soft and tender voice rings through the comfortable silence. 

  
A silhouette moves along the draperies, revealing the Princess in its silk red wine gown that dances as she moves gracefully from her inner chamber. Her gentle and yet fierce hazelnut brown eyes looked shallow as the waters of the deep lake, however, nobody knows their depths. A lady of power, grace, beauty and intuition, she moves with precise movements, ready to strike her enemy. 

  
"Your peerless Knight is in grave danger! The Shadows is at bay, the one now manipulating the future of the two Kingdoms!" I cried, wide-eye as the vision flashes before me, as clear now as the morning sun. 

  
"And this is all the work of my half-sister?" quickly turning to my Princess, her temples now is creased in frown. "The Shadows will not work unless with a greater cause. There is no reason for them to interfere since their clan had dwindled, almost in the brink of extinction for their very existence is a bane to humanity unless - " her eyes immediately flares up, a sharp contrast to the tender warmth it held earlier. 

  
"My bastard sister!" she hisses between gritted teeth while clenching both of her hands. It is no wonder how my Princess had hated her half-sister, to the point of sending an espionage to the Toou to monitor her shady deeds against her. "No wonder all of my spies had been lost! It's the work of those dreadful creatures of the night!" 

  


All of the sudden, my mind is seized with the rolling white mist and blinding lightning of vision. Seeing through the future, I could see six hazy silhouettes forming in the clouds standing amidst the golden arena. Their very presence were almost god-like, filled with tremendous strength and power that had cast away the Shadows. They are the lone _Travelers of Time and Space._

  
_"The Travelers!"_

  
Swiftly drawn out from my smothering visions, I sharply turn towards my princess. "Princess Riko! We will need to welcome the Travelers! They will be your aid for your fight!" 

  


  


  


* * *

* * *

  


  
_So, the Travelers had arrived from a different time and world? Just how convenient could this be for my plans?_

  
The stars had spoken to me the fate of this world will be in the hands of six powerful Travelers. How honest the stars are! They have proven themselves worthy of my attention and trust. Slowly, turning round my heels, I caught the curios gaze of my chamberlain, a shade of lust glinting in those coal black eyes. 

  
_The failure and weakness of men!_ My heart cannot helped it, but to mock men. 

  
"Send for my valiant Knights. Tell them to prepare the carriage. I will personally attend the Sacred Fight of my Champion, Tatsuya," I commanded with a soft smile upon my lips. "Yes, my Princess!" alert on his feet, he rushes out of the hall to fill his deed. 

  


  


* * *

* * *

  


_This is the moment I had been waiting for. The moment that I can finally slay you with my bow and arrow, Taiga._

  
All around me, the honey-colored light gathered, my silver and purple mail armor gleaming and shouting out for blood. _Blood!_ My heart is soon seized of conviction. How long has it been? How long had I prayed to the Gods above for this fateful day that I can finally avenge my bloody pride? 

  
_Tatsuya! He is your brother! I need you to look out after him!_

  
Your voice again, father? Shaking my head of the awful voice, I fix my sharp glare at him. No use for your fatherly words, you are long dead in my heart when you had chosen that bastard over me, your legitimate son! I will not falter now! I am going to fulfill my task! 

  
_You have to love each other! Care for each other! Blood kin do not fight for death!_

  
_So be it, father! So be it!_ Clenching my bow, my heart begins to race wild, like the roaring sea waves slamming its frothy waters against the hard boulders of land. _So be it!_

  
Carefully watching him as he steadies the aim of his silver sword towards me, I pull away my bow's string farther, my arrow aimed straight at his heart. Good-bye, _half-brother._

  
_Blood is thicker than water, Tatsuya._

  
However, the voice in my head is drowned in the loud and bloodcurdling cheers drifting off from the spectators. How their words ring of death and blood that my very own congeal at the thought of dying! 

  
No. I will not be the one whose blood will spill on this golden cobblestone. Not me, but him! 

  
Out of the blue, silver and gold mist appeared out of nowhere, it is as if erupting from some unknown fissure that quickly fills the whole arena. The whole crowd is then cast in a great confusion, their cries of astonishment and fear echo through the enclosed ancient walls of the Sacred Sanctuary of the Fighters. Covering my eyes with both of my arms, seeing through the thick fog, I could see Taiga defending himself from the foreign substance accumulating before us. 

  


Not long, the silver and gold mist quickly dispels. My eyes widen as silhouettes appear through the thick clouds, revealing them to be six in numbers. The crowd then slowly had fallen into a great silence. 

  


Before us, with their strange and mystic clothing of stark white coat and lean dark trousers, were the six young lads - no, perhaps they are in the same age as us. All of them stood transfixed, as if in a trance, their eyes that looked confused and bewildered. The handsome short lad with a deep crimson mane turns his watchful scarlet eyes towards me, his right hand that curls at the other one with the light turquoise locks, a pretty one with glassy aquamarine eyes gaze unsteadily towards us.

  
Quietly, I sweep my cool gaze at the others who were more taller and mature than the two lads. The one had a fierce look on his tan face, his navy blue mane shares the same hue of his wary and vexed eyes. Slowly, I move my eyes towards the other one with golden locks, a handsome and charming face with golden amber eyes that seemed to twinkle of panic and fear. Beside him stood a tall lad with straight, long purple mane reaching his shoulders, casting a wary deep magenta eyes around him. The other stands erect, as if stiff frozen on his place, a lad with deep emerald hair wearing a rectangular-shaped spectacles, an odd white cloth is covering his right hand. 

  
_Who are these people? How did they come here? Spells and magic, aside from Dark Arts, cannot be wield in the Sacred Sanctuary of the Fighters. Where did they come from?_

  
"Who are you people?!" Taiga demands. 

  
However, they could only stare back at him with a baffled face, turning to each other in despair. Seeing how they were not able to understand him, Taiga flushes red, a sign that he is quite furious. Could it be that these people - Knowledge soon dawns at my face. 

  


"Who are you people!?" Soon, the tall, sturdy navy blue head steps forward, a look of annoyance flaring his ever suntanned face, softly whispering to the short handsome crimson head, who returns the same confused nod, before turning to the fair-looking turquoise head. Suddenly, they started to tremble as if seized in a terrible malady. 

  
"Who are you people?! How were you able to enter this Sacred Sanctuary of the Fighters? Are you people from _Kirisaki Daichi_?! Answer me!?" Kirisaki Daichi, the hated country of the Barbarians. All kinds of strange and menacing creatures, especially evil sorcerers are known to inhabit that place. 

  
Turning towards Taiga, he quickly caught my eye. Sharply turning round on his heel, he makes his way back to his arching door, calling forth his band of silver and red mail armored knight students. They surrounded the six strangers, their silver swords now drawn at them. 

  


Taiga steps forward, a fierce look glimmering in his red eyes as he points the sharp edge of his silver sword towards them. Terror and surprise were reflected in their eyes, seeing the bloody gleam of the swords aimed at their throats.

  
"Speak up, strangers! Or you will never see the first shaft of the breaking dawn ever again!" Taiga's sharp and threatening voice echo throughout the dead silent Arena. 

  


  
_**...to be continued.**_

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **This is purely a Fan Fiction. Kuroko no Basket is not my property, and neither do the characters under it.**  
>  If you have any thoughts regarding the story, please feel free to leave your professional commentaries. Thank you very much! Hopefully, you enjoyed the story!


	3. Just A Simple Dinner

  


* * *

* * *

  


  
We found ourselves in the confines of immaculate white royal walls where indigo and royal blue draperies hung low, coaxing the soft sizzling cackle of the burning golden flames in the hearth for more warmth. A long, narrow dark wooden table lay before us as we took our seats down in the comfortable chair. A sea of strange and yet palatable dishes were settled in front of us, the tempting delicious aroma wafting into our nostrils. 

  
Across us, seated in a high chair is a man garbed in cream white and golden robes, a large golden crown jutted with Amethyst and Ruby stones, is neatly seated on top of his crop of dark brown locks ogle at us curiously. Standing either beside him were his two Retainers, perhaps, knights in their tunic of cream white and gold mail armors, their eyes brimming of bemusement and suspicion at the same time. 

  
"Forgive us with the cruel welcome, Strangers from another land - " 

  
"We are from Japan," Midorima sharply cuts in, sitting up on his chair as he clears his throat. 

  
_"Japan?"_ the man clears his brow, passing sidelong glances to his two knights, who only creased their forehead in utter puzzlement. "Japan?" he repeats, savoring the foreign word on his tongue. "From exactly where Kingdom that is?" His face hold a look of utter ignorance, not a tinge of recognition in his gentle and wise hazelnut brown eyes. 

  
How is this possible that they do not know our country Japan? It is one of the most industrialized and advanced countries in the whole world. Just exactly where are we right now? 

  
"Kingdom? No. We do no belong to any kingdoms, perhaps, you mean a continent? We are from Asia - " 

  
"Asia?" the coal black hair with sharp keen eyes akin to an eagle crisply interferes. "We do not have a continent named Asia, stranger. We only have six Kingdoms that are under the benign rule of our High King Kagetora, they are the Seirin, Kaijo, Shutoko, Toou, Yosen and the Rakuzan."

  
Slowly, I cast an inquiring look at my comrades. Tetsuya could only return the same. Midorima shakes his head, trying to sort things out in his mind. Murasakibara yawns across the table, causing the green head to frown in displeasure at the ill-manner. Aomine is no different, drawing a sharp air out of his lungs. And Kise - 

  
"It appears that we have arrived to a completely different kind of world, however, Your Majesty, we are still from Earth. We are human beings, who simply came here out of goodwill," I said. The King's face soon softened, the clouds of doubt now had lifted up from his dark brown eyes. His two knights exchanged gazes of wonder at each other before turning to my stead. 

  
"Then, if I may know of each of your names?" the man asks.

  
Slowly, gathering a lungful of air, I return the gentle and curios gaze of the King before me. "My name is Akashi Seijuuro and this one, beside me is Kuroko Tetsuya." _My lover..._ I quietly added in my thought, gently grabbing his right hand into mine and heartily squeeze it in my palms. Tetsuya sheepishly bobs his head low, a pinkish color flush before his cheeks, of which I cannot helped, but to smirk in amusement. 

  
"N-Nice to meet you, King Kagetora," Tetsuya softly greets across the long table to the King, almost in a stuttering manner as I fondle with his fingers. "Nice to meet you as well, Sir Kuroko and Sir Akashi." He soon turns towards my other companions. 

  
"My name is Midorima Shintaro, this person beside me with the blond locks is called Kise Ryouta." Our blond companion quickly turns to the man with a toothy grin. "Nice to meet you, My King." His greeting is well received as the man smiles heartily back at him. "How about you, young man with a dark complexion?" 

  
Upon his words, Aomine flushes red, taking the words at heart as he is not accustomed to such a kind of conversation. Quickly turning to him, I give him a warning look, of which he easily understood as he draws out sharp air from his lungs. "My name is Aomine Daiki, Your Highness." His voice sounded crisp that I cannot helped, but to snort at his short temper. 

  
"Hello, Your Highness, my name is Murasakibara Atsushi," the purple head softly introduces himself with a tender grin breaking on his lips. No wonder he is like that because of all of these riches before us, I thought with a chuckle. 

  
"Nice to meet you, Sir Aomine and Sir Murasakibara! It has been ages that we haven't had any visitors in our Kingdom! I am quite happy to receive all of you in my humble palace. Before I forgot, I would like you all to meet my valiant and trusted Knights, Sir Kiyoshi Teppei," the king extends his right hand towards a tall, bulky-built with dark brown mane, who nods towards us with a solemn smile. "And this one is Sir Izuki Shun," he adds, a wide grin upon his lips as he turns to the coal black head knight. 

  
"Now," turning back, he sweeps us with a fond gaze before clapping his hands gaily, signaling for the servants to serve his guests. "Please enjoy the meal!" 

  


Soon, a swarm of chambermaids cloaked in white robes step on our sides, serving down gold plates, spoons and forks, filling up the goblets with the steaming Rose Tea. "Please enjoy the feast, gentlemen!" the king cajoles with a fond smile upon his aged face.

  
"Can you pass that chicken over here, please?" Aomine asks, pointing with his right hand index finger the desired delicacy which lay down on the table across him. 

  
"Chicken?" the chambermaid echoes his word, astonishment washing her fine countenance. "Yes, chicken!" Aomine nods. However, the lady could only shake her head, turning the gaze of my comrade with a knowing smile. "That is not chicken, Sire, but an Eagle," she chuckles, oblivious of how our faces fell upon her words. 

  
"What? E-Eagle!?" Midorima quickly surges up on his feet. "But Eagles are in the brink of extinction! How could you hunt and kill them as if they are just chickens, nanodayo!?" his pallor is now soaked in the color of red wine, disbelief and dread washing over his face. 

  
"What are you talking about, Sir Midorima Shintaro? Chickens are food for the noble's lions and tigers. We do not eat them for they are intended for our carnivorous pets. And as for the Eagles, Hawks, and Herons, there are quite abundant in the Great Woodland. We have a special organization responsible to propagate their number for us not to face shortage in live stocks," the coal black head Knight calmly speaks. 

  
Kise, however, coughs, right hand curling over his mouth as his eyes widen after hearing his words. Quietly turning down to my plate, amusement swells in my chest at such discovery. 

  
"I-I have an eagle pet at home, so... so, um eating one feels like..." Kise stutters, terror glinting in his golden amber eyes as he grabs the goblet, gulping down its content in one shot. 

  
"Um... then, can I have that steak? Yes, steak!" Aomine's face light up, the terror has now vanish from his suntanned face. 

  
The chambermaid gives him a puzzled look. "Steak? No, Sire. This one is the meat of an anaconda. However, you have a great choice of delicacy, since this is one of the most on-demand menu!" the chambermaid blithely claps her hand, immediately serving the said dish in front of Aomine, whose face turned ashen white. 

  
"Miss, may I have those white eggs over there?" Murasakibara asks, pointing with his mouth the menu just across him. The chambermaid is quick by his side, immediately serving the dish to him. 

  
"Eh? That looks delicious, Murasakibaracchi! Please give me eggs as well, Miss!" Kise chirps in, his face glowing of radiance seeing such a delicious food. 

  
"Sure, Sire! But I am quite astonished that you have such a rare pick for the food," the chambermaid softly laughs, serving the food at Kise's plate. Murasakibara, Aomine, Midorima and Tetsuya were quietly partaking the said food while listening to her. 

  
"May I know what are these, Miss?" I ask, holding out the fork as I point the weird delicacy on my plate. 

  
"Dragon Tits!" 

  
Her words send my companions choking out the said delicacy. "D-Dragon Tits?!" Aomine chokes out, quickly slamming down his spoon and fork on his plate. 

  
"Where is the bathroom, nanodayo?!" Midorima is quick on his feet, face in full bloom. 

  
The High King turns to each of us in pure astonishment, his face brightened up as he watches our ridiculous reactions. "Shun, please show Sir Midorima our palace's comfort room." 

  
Sir Izuki is quick at the disposal of his King, arching his right eyebrow as he turns to face the flushed red Midorima. "This way, Sir Midorima." The green head follows suit as the coal black head walks out of the dining hall. Murasakibara, a great eater, has mysteriously gave up on his plate and quietly followed after the green head. 

  
"E-Excuse me... Um, I - I need water," softly gaging beside me, Tetsuya crouches over the table, covering his mouth with his right hand. "Tetsuya!?" swiftly up on my feet, I round beside him, gently stroking his back. "Are you okay?" slowly, bobbing his head, he returns a faint smile despite of the colors draining from his cheeks. "I-I'm fine." 

  
Shaking my head, I quickly shot him a dull look. "I think you're not, Tetsuya." Turning back to my companions, I could see the shock painted upon their faces. Learning the nature of the foods laid upon us were enough to shake their minds. Learning the culture of others, especially of a different world is truly amazing. 

  


  


* * *

* * *

  


  
The night wore on. With it the silence had completely enshrouded the previously clamors in the palace. No sooner we were brought into our personal chambers, each in pairs. Quietly, taking in the whole strange air that coat my lungs and the great riches surrounding us, I haplessly turn towards the tall narrow glass window. The vast expanse of the ebony black sky embellish of bright white and yellow hot stars that seemed to dance from the distance sends a wave of nostalgia in my heart. 

  
_Where are we really? Can we still go back to our time? Can we really save our own world?_

  
I could still remember the quaking earth beneath me, the piercing shrills and agonizing cries that fill my ears - almost deafening me. And of my own nature, my own identity. Mayuzumi's words were like a vortex. It had almost pull me into darkness. Slowly, closing my eyes, my mind travels back into that deep and menacing darkness that wrapped me into oblivion, almost to the point of desolation. 

  


  


>   
> 
> 
>   
>  _"No! No! Let me go! Don't touch me!" sharply pushing my elbows against his ribcage, I quickly leap up from his greedy embrace, turning to him with a fierce gaze._
> 
>   
>  _He surges up on his feet, gently stroking his side and turning to me with a leer on his face which sent a cold shiver to my whole body._
> 
>   
>  _'Believe my son... Believe...' The voice continues to call out, as if in moaning agony. Warily, I watch him slowly advance forward, glassy ebony black eyes and an impassive expression on his face made my whole body tremble as I cannot read what is he going to do next._
> 
>   
>  _Is he going to rush towards me? Pounce at me? Is he going to tie me down or what?_
> 
>   
>  _Clenching both of my teeth and hands, I fixed my ever watchful gaze at him, mastering the wild pound against my chest._
> 
>   
>  _'Believe Tetsuya, believe...'_
> 
>   
>  _Believe what, Mother?_
> 
>   
>  _"As expected, you are truly confused."_
> 
>   
>  _Before I knew it, he quickly vanished before my eyes like a vapor, appearing like a phantom behind me and quickly wrestled both of my arms. A great pain surges throughout my back that I squinted my eyes, gritting my teeth._
> 
>   
>  _"You never belonged to this world from the start. You are a Shadow Wielder, of that I am greatly sure as I continuously watched you after our first meeting," he forcefully grabbed my chin, turning me up to face him._
> 
>   
>  _"I have no idea of what you are talking about!" I hissed between gritted teeth, pushing him away with my hands. He tightly gripped both of my wrists, almost crushing my bones that I haplessly groaned in pain._
> 
>   
>  _His hand slowly released my jaw. Fingers softly brushing the hollow of my neck up to my cheeks. "You are a Shadow Wielder. Your heart knows it. You cannot deny how our soul knows each other," he huskily whispers, drawing his face closer to me in a hair's breadth. "Did your Mother's voice whispered you those words in your sleep? Tell me, Kuroko. Tell me... What did you see in your sleep?"_
> 
>   
>  _However, before I could utter a word, his hard lips quickly covers mine, devouring mine with a disgusting covetousness._
> 
>   
>  _"N...No...!" sharply turning away from him, I utter my despair for freedom as I try to gather every ounce of power in my whole body. However, he presses the center of his body against mine, causing me to feel sick. His hand seized my jaw, firmly turning me to him, prying hard my mouth and surges deep once more, choking me for breath. Tepid tears started to gather at the side of my eyes as his tongue delves deeper sucking out all of the air inside my lungs, tasting his strange pomegranate flavor in my mouth, and how my heart anguished more as I could feel his manhood stir against mine._
> 
>   
>  _No! Please help me! Help! Seijuuro-kun! Seijuuro-kun!_
> 
>   
>  _Only Seijuuro-kun is allowed to do this! Only Seijuuro-kun! Only Seijuuro-kun, because -_
> 
>   
>  _Because what?_
> 
>   
>  _Soon, his mouth starts to travel down on my jaw, his soft lips raining wet kisses all over my face which made my stomach churned up._
> 
>   
>  _"Anngghhh... N...No...! Stop it...! No...!"_
> 
>   
>  _His hand soon starts to wound its way down to my groins, immediately grabbing mine of which I grossed out, my mind completely rejecting the disgusting feeling that stirred within me._
> 
>   
>  _"You disgusting... Annnnggghhh!" his teeth suddenly nipped on my neck as if tearing away my flesh, sucking it out that I squirmed beneath him._
> 
>   
>  _"Seijuuro-kun... Seijuuro-kun... help!"_
> 
>   
>  _"Be quiet!" quickly, he grabbed my jaw, forcing me to turn to him, his hand almost crushed my chin as my tears rushed down on my cheeks. "He won't be able to save you now! You will become mine! Only mine! Since you were all mine from the start!"_
> 
>   
>  _"No! I am not yours! I only belong to him! Only to him!" quickly, I caught myself upon my words, my heart suddenly starts to pound wilder than before._
> 
>   
>  _A deep and low cackle resounds through the hollow darkness, filling the air with malice and dread. "Why?! For him to toy you around?!"_
> 
>   
>  _His words stung me. It made my heart crippled, almost broken into pieces._
> 
>   
>  _My Master? Seijuuro-kun? Toying me? Quickly, I shook my head, fighting the tears to swell up once more. "Seijuuro-kun is not that kind of person! He is a good and kind person! He always cares for me and I believe that he will not toy me!"_
> 
>   
>  _"Hah!" he snorts, a sardonic grin splayed on his lips. "How so? How can you prove it? Tell me, Kuroko..." once more, he gripped hard my jaw, drawing his mouth on mine, biting my bottom lip almost tearing it apart that I cried._
> 
>   
>  _I whisked my face away from him, freeing my lips from his ravenous mouth. "I - I like him!" I spat at him, however, my heart seemed to soar up upon those very words I had spoken._
> 
>   
>  _Do you really like him? Do I really do?_
> 
>   
>  _"I really like him! I like him! I like him! I like him!" I cried in a hoarse voice, the tepid tears soon entered my mouth, the salty flavor almost choking me. How my lungs heaved and my heartbeat knocked out all my senses after those words._
> 
>   
>  _"Very well, Kuroko... Very well..." slowly, he releases his hands from my wrists and jaw, carefully arising his hard and lean form looming over me. "So, you say you like him... but," immediately, I surge up on my feet, brushing away the feel of his lips against mine using the back of my right hand while fixing him a deathly glare._
> 
>   
>  _"How about him? Does he like you the way you do?" he turns to me with the usual glassy eyes, his face wore on the impassive mask he had always did._
> 
>   
>  _"I - I do not really care if he likes me back or not. All I am aware is that I am born to serve him and that, my liking him or not will not change anything," I said, steeling myself before him._
> 
>   
>  _"How ironic," he bemused, an old painful smile glowing on his face, his ebony black eyes seeing through the past. "How you remind me of my old self, however, see what I have become now. A desperate creature of the night, who knows nothing but to seek out his heart's desire."_
> 
>   
>  _Slowly, he turns to me once more, a determined look in his ebony black eyes. "However, I will still be watching you. I shall wait for the moment to capture you," he said in a voice laced with threat. "At that moment, I will not hesitate to make you mine. Remember, you and I are the same. You are a Shadow Wielder, remember that."_
> 
>   
>  _And like a mist he dispels before me like the breaking of the dawn after a wicked night. However, his words never failed to make me shiver, before I awoken from that nightmare and I found myself all alone in the familiar room with all the shadows that gathered all around me._
> 
>   
>  _"Seijuuro-kun... Please do not ever leave me..."_
> 
>   
> 
> 
>   
> 

  


  


"Tetsuya? Are you feeling better now?" 

  
Quickly brushing away the cold tears from my cheeks with the back of my hand, I fixed myself before turning to him. His brow arched up upon my sight that he slowly reaches his right hand over my cheeks, a fond gaze reflecting in those scarlet eyes. 

  
"There is no use in hiding it, Tetsuya," he whispers, his voice is the sound of the Summer wind that rustles the sleeping leaves of the Willows. "Come here, my love," he ushers, cradling me in his arms. His lips felt soft and warm against my temple and his hands gently stroking my back, comforting my weary soul. 

  
"Seijuuro-kun, I - " 

  
"Shhh..." slowly, he draws me away from him, the moon's pale light bathing his tender and loving face. "Whatever that is Tetsuya, what is more important is we are together," he huskily speaks, walking me towards the wide and comfortable bed where draperies of silver and gold hung low. 

  
"Let us sleep together and tomorrow, you can tell me all about it," he speaks tenderly, gently laying me down on the bed, his right hand brushing away the tears from my cheeks. 

  
Softly, he lays down beside me, facing me with a face full of warmth and love that it made my heart puff up with so much happiness. " I love you, Tetsuya. I really do..." he softly whispers, as if in prayer, enclosing me in his arms and his lips against my forehead. 

  
"I love you, too, Seijuuro-kun," I answered, almost crying before drowsiness pulled me into the deep slumber. 

  


  


_**...to be continued.** _

  


  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **This is purely a Fan Fiction. Kuroko no Basket is not my property, and neither do the characters under it.**  
>  If you have any thoughts regarding the story, please feel free to leave your professional commentaries. Thank you very much! Hopefully, you enjoyed the story!


	4. Drowning, A Feather and Casting Shadows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **POP QUIZ!**  
>  What happened to Kise?

  


* * *

* * *

  


  


  
The time has finally arrived for my plans to come to fruition. And with the appearance of these travelers from another world, I will vanquish those people who caused grief over me. Everyone will taste my wrath, especially you, _dearest Father._ Quietly, I gulp the sour bile rising from the pit of my stomach, holding down the tears in my eyes. Yes, they shall pay for everything. 

  
Striding along the cobblestone bathed in golden light. My trusted and valiant knights tailed behind me in their beaming royal blue tunic and silver mail armors, hard and dour faces with a stalking depths in their eyes. 

  
The double arching door groaned open as I demand passage in the Sacred Sanctuary of the Fighters, enticing curios gazes from student-knights, pages, squires, nobles and alike that stood by transfixed upon my presence. 

  
_Bow down before your future Queen!_ My heart covets, a preening smile curling on my lips. 

  
"Princess Satsuki, what a surprise to see you in the wee hours of the night. Are you not always in your own Chamber? Quietly admiring the stellars in the galaxy?" 

  
The sweet and sardonic voice of Princess Riko quickly awoke me from my reverie, pacing forward with a warm smile on her face, yet those coffee-colored eyes bore great abhorrence at my very sight. Behind her magnificent robes of silk red wine embroidered of the great winged golden phoenix, its fierce and sharp claws ever stalking its prey, white furs hanged stiffly around her neck, stood her heedful knights, hearts and minds held tight and locked upon my very presence. 

  
_So, you know now how to keep your guards up, dearest sister?_ Soon, the entire crowd gathering around us drew in a gasp of air, as if the very clammy wind is suspended, hearts torn between fear and hilarity as they witnessed such a rare phenomena. 

  
"I have come here to bring good tidings to my champion, though I must say it is quite late," inclining my head on her, a sheepish grin spreads on my lips. "How about you, dear sister?" 

  


She drew in a sharp breath, sweeping a cunning gaze at my form before slipping a ghostly smirk on her lips. "I am quite surprised to hear that, dearest sister. I thought that you have come here to see the _Travelers_ , but I guess your Visions had failed you?" came the delicate and yet, mocking voice of which caused my blood to curdle.

  
_You imbecile!_ Mustering the rage boiling within me, a delightful smile appears on my lips, shredding away the murky hues in my eyes. 

  
_"Travelers?"_ I ask blankly. Doubt soon hangs low in those burning coffee-brown eyes, lips set in a grim line. Silently rejoicing, I draw myself close to her, right hand on my mouth. "I am quite preoccupied of the matter of my own Kingdom that I am not free to engage in such activities, dearest sister." 

  
Turning around, I could see how her coffee-brown eyes are glazed with deep scrutiny, doubt biting her heart upon my spoken words. Slowly, the crowd stirs, passing silent murmurs to each other as if bees in the Summer morn.

  
"So, sister? Would you do the honor of telling me about these Travelers that you speak of?" my spirit soars up, seeing the smitten look upon her face. 

  
_See how you shame yourself with your arrogance, dearest sister? See how you put yourself as the antagonist before your people, Riko!_ My mind swims in utter mirthful glory, seeing how the people throws their eyes filled with utter contempt at my whey-faced sister. 

  
"Not to worry, my sister," slowly softening her face, she gazes at me with deep concern, the murky malice now gone in those eyes. "Together, we shall meet them tonight. Hopefully, our Father, the High King will permit us audience." 

  
_'He is not my father!'_

  
My heart fretfully howls, silently gripping the hem of my robe as I stifle down the anger with a delightful smile splayed upon my lips. No sooner had we finished the dally talk that the bulky-built, dark brown haired Sir Kiyohi Teppei, strides towards us, solemnly followed by the loyal Sir Izuki Shun in their white cream tunic and blinding gold of mail armor, the crest of the Laurel symbolizing the House of Aida is splayed across their chest. 

  


"Good tidings to you Sir Kiyoshi and Sir Izuki," Riko greets, a warm glow dawning on her face as she turns to the tall Sir Kiyoshi and Sir Izuki. The two return her greetings with a cordial smile, offering to us their due respect with a bow, their right arm resting over their chest.

  
"We seek the audience of our High King tonight," Riko is quick on her purpose, a hard look on her coffee brown eyes as she holds her chin up. 

  
Sir Kiyoshi steps forward with an air of resolution around him. "I am afraid that tonight is an exemption, Princess Riko and Princess Satsuki. King Kagetora is currently engaging himself with the strangers and is not to be disturb in the current moment." 

  
A pang of molten pain streams throughout my whole being, turning my ears flaring. Mastering the inner chaos from bursting, I cast a perturb eye to my sister. Amusement crawls in my skin, seeing the color flushed to the roots of her hair. Slowly, trampling down the inner demons within her, she sharply gathers a lungful of air before turning up to the two messengers. 

  
"Understood. We shall seek our High King's Audience until tomorrow, then," casting a final weary eye before turning round on her heels, behind her walk the knights of Seirin. 

  
"It is such a shame to miss this great opportunity. However, I wish I would be able to gain the audience of my High King tomorrow. Good night to you two, good sirs. Please bid a good night to my dear father as well," I said in a voice as sweet as the ambrosia of the Gods, before turning around. 

  
_No matter, I shall seek them as my own audience in the near time, dearest Father!_ My mind hisses, a tide of billowing dark clouds looming over my thoughts as I stride before the great throng of bright-eyed student-knights before darkness swallows my very existence. 

  
_I see how you mistrust your own blood, dearest Father, but I will make sure to meet your expectations. Soon!_

  


  


* * *

* * *

  


  
The bright shafts of golden sun streamed down before my sight as soon as I wink away the sleepiness of last night. My body feels rejuvenated, as if I had been asleep for a plenty of nights. The warmth feels raw, novel - a gentle caress upon my cheeks as I slowly lift my face to see Tetsuya lying down beside me. A docile and tranquil smile sweetly curves at the corner of his lips. 

  
_My dearest lover..._

  
My heart glides up in cloud nine at the very thought hanging in my mind. Quietly, as if in a trance, my fingers trace those delicate creamy cheeks, smooth well-curved nose, the pinkish thin lips that I covet so much at his very sight, and how my heart slips into a fleeting sweet dream as I set my eyes once more at those clear turquoise eyes framed in long, black lashes that seemed to flutter as the wings of the Dove. 

  
The world for me seemed to spin in a different time and dimension as I hold him once more in my arms, slowly enclosing him in a tender embrace as the warm and golden light flooded the room, the indigo draperies hanging low seemed to glow. Closing my eyes, I drown myself to his familiar scent wafting in my nostrils as I kiss his silken hollow nape, the brush of his tender locks against my cheeks and the gentle movements of his chest. 

  
_So soft..._ My mind hums in ecstasy, lost in the waves of emotions drowning me. 

  
"S-Seijuuro-kun...?" 

  
Slowly, I opened my eyes after planting a soft lingering kiss on his nape. "What are you doing so early in the morning?" carefully, he stirs up on the bed, a warm tinge swimming in those milky turquoise eyes. 

  
"Nothing Tetsuya. Just devoting myself to my morning rituals," I answered, drawing him closer once more as I breath in the softness of his hollow neck of which his flesh trembles at my very touch. 

  
"Seijuuro-kun... Aaannnggghh... We are in a different world... Please restrain yourself," he begs softly, forcing himself to pull away. 

  
Closing our gap with an ever fond gaze down on his flush cheeks, a ghostly smirk appears on my lips as I brush my lips on his tender face. "It really does not matter, right? This room is only for us. I could smother you whole-heartedly without any interruptions," my voice sounded husky akin to a droning bee as I dab at the corner of his lips, poking my tongue at the soft crevice of his mouth. 

  
Hastily, he jerks away rosy-cheeked, eyes squinted close as his hands firmly held against my jaw, gently pushing me away. "Please Seijuuro-kun, not so early in the morning." 

  
"Tetsuya, I see you are still on your usual self," I hum, softly gripping his right fingers, drawing in its tips into my mouth, sucking its softness of which he gasps in utter surprise. Trying to pull away, I draw him closer instead. Pinning him down as I straddle myself over him. Apprehension flashes in his turquoise eyes, disturbing the tranquil depths of its clarity as I fixed my stare at him. 

  
"Do not think of escaping, Tetsuya." The air seemed to caught up in his throat as I firmly grip his right wrist, tasting each of its tips into my mouth. His flesh seemed to writhe as my tongue licks on his skin. 

  
"S-Seijuuro-kun - " 

  
Quickly, I laid my finger on his soft trembling lips. "Shhh..." He shrinks back, squinting hard his eyes as I brush the soft buds of his lips, slicking them inside him of which he soon groans upon my entrance. 

  
_"Aaaammmffftt...!"_

  
Moaning softly under my ministration, I delve my finger deeper now wet of his liquid, searching the caverns of his mouth with insatiate lecherousness. My chest tightens as my heart starts to pick a race. Watching how his cheeks glow in a deep carmine hue and his whole being that shivers under me. 

  
_More..._

  
My finger surges deep. Unsated, I added two more digits, pumping harder inside him of which he laboriously tried to turn his mouth away, however, I caught his jaw, gripping it gently with my left hand. 

  


_"Aaammmmfffffttt...!"_

  
He softly moans, silver tears stream down at the corner of his eyes as his breath starts to grow thick. Slowly, his hands wound its way on to my hand that I thoughtfully gripped with both of my left hand, my fingers deepening within him. He almost choke as I added the fourth one, round-eyed with fear.

  
_This is how much I covet you, Tetsuya..._ Faster and deeper. I delve my fingers deeper that his body starts to wildly tremor, his whole skin flushing to the roots of his hair. Slowly, I pull out my fingers from his mouth dripping of his wet liquid. Slowly, he regains for his lost breath, squinting his eyes close. His whole body now released from my unsated deed. 

  
"I want Tetsuya more..." I mutter under my breath, slowly reaching for his flushed cheeks. Leaning closer while he recovers, my lips greedily capture him in surprise. This time, my tongue swims deeper, tasting his vanilla flavor with vigor as I swirl around him, drinking him down his warm breath. 

  
_"Mmmmfffftttt...!"_

  
His words died down in his throat as our lips meet, leaving him breathlessly smite of my drunkenness. My whole flesh crawled as I pressed myself hard against him, almost mashing him as a new tide of emotion sweeps over me. My thoughts drifted into a cloud of unfathomable desire as my heart is caught in its waves. Automatically, my hand snakes down to the delicate hollows of his neck, brushing my scorching tips to his nape, hungrily grabbing a handful of his locks, drawing him closer, my nose breathing his own warmth. 

  
_More..._

  


Finally drinking in his stupor breathe, I caught his soft buds once more, gently nipping them between mine before drawing a hair's breadth from his ruddy cheeks. Slowly, his turquoise eyes squints under his fluttering black lashes, a cloud of daze scudding the watery depths of his soul. His lungs heave for air, stroking his ever swollen lips, I cast him a fond smile before pecking a wet kiss on his lips.

  
"Come now, Tetsuya. It's time for us to bath together," drawing myself from him as I sit up, I caught his hesitant form before he could protest, leading his dazzled self towards the white door of the bathroom. "Come." My right arm found his shoulders, enclosing him once more as he haggardly walks with me, face red as a lily soaked in its own blood. 

  
"Remember our morning rituals together?" I whisper, nuzzling close to his ear of which he shivers down to his spine. The door softly groaned behind us, muffling away the earthly noises drifting through the outside halls. Impatiently, shoving him against the wall, my hands found those buttons - unraveling them one by one. He caught his own breath, anxiety clawing his heart. How my heart trembles as his vast, unadulterated creamy chest reveals itself before my eyes. 

  
Sharply, he cast his gaze away, as I softly slip the cloth from his arms, noiselessly pooling down on the polished floor, fingertips tracing the delicate contours of his shoulder blade. He drew in a sharp air, tugging him into my arms, lips resting in the hollows of his neck. 

  


All his words were caught in his throat as I unfasten from my own, lean and supple fingers moved with dexterity as I slip out. Now, skin to skin, I marvel how my flesh simmers down as we collide, my breath grows ragged, drinking his familiar scent into my nose.

  
"Tetsuya, I want to stay like this forever..." I whisper, closing my eyes as the warmth encumbers me to comfort. Inner peace revels within me as I hold him into my arms, inhaling him as my own. 

  
"Seijuuro-kun," he finally breathes with arms slowly wounding around mine. "They will look for us if we stay longer like this," he softly speaks. Groaning, I pull myself an inch from him, the light caught in the corners of his lips as he beams his beatific smile upon me. How I truly love his very being that I haplessly returns to him the same smile. 

  
"You are quite right." Silence wraps us like the cloak of the ebony night, however, our eyes twinkle as we convey our silent prayers in our sealed lips. The moments were ephemeral. A soft lullaby akin to the breezing wind passing along the smooth rolling green plains. The Spring's sweet scent drifting along the budding flowers of May. The waning Moon glittering amidst the clear sea of ebony sky. And the translucent sparkles of the fireflies dancing with the Nightingale's cradlesong. 

  
A chuckle breaks into the soft silence, as I remembered the comical dinner of last night's. "I cannot wait to discover what kind of Earth are we in right now." 

  
His face brighten, a soft grin spreads on his lips. "Seijuuro-kun, I do hope that we can live through all this. I think I do not have the stomach for their weird delicacy." 

  
The whole room is filled with our soft and merry laughter, oblivious of the golden light that bathed us, its warmth as soft coat brushing against our flesh. 

  
"Then, shall we bath together?" I pursue with a smile. The red tint soon mottles her pallor, fluttering his lashes as he casts a hesitant and anxious eye at me. "P-Please don't smother me too much." He softly speaks. 

  
"I have no idea of what you are talking about, Tetsuya," I said with an amiable smile on my lips, quickly taking his arm as I lead him towards the tub, which is enough for two people. 

  
He sweeps an anxious eye at me after seeing the tub. "Seijuuro-kun, this is too cramp for us. I - I shall wait for you outside then - " however, I quickly caught him around the waist, gently enclosing him to my arms. "Don't worry, a bit of skinship will not kill us. After all, in the future," my mind soon slips into a new thought of which a ghostly smirk splays upon my lips. 

  
"In the future, Tetsuya, remember that," I softly whisper against his ear. He shivers as I pull him with me inside the tub. The mild water kisses our skin as we settle down, taking the seat behind him as he hesitantly pulls himself from me. My arms quickly wound around his chest, tugging him closer to me of which greatly made him gasp as his back slammed hard against my broad frame. 

  
"So, for now, you still have your full freedom," I said, leaning closer to him as I draw butterfly kisses on his tense shoulder blade. Slowly pulling off his trousers while he shivers against my flesh. 

  
_Soon, you will be fully mine._

  


  


* * *

* * *

  


  


_"Hey, Midorimacchi!? Are we really in a different world-ssu?"_

  
A slow, careful sharp breath echoes through the morning silence as I pace towards the tall arching doorway leading to the immaculate white bathroom. The water had been boiled, prepared rolls of spotless-clean cream towels lay by the graveled sink, across it stood the full-body, oval-shaped mirror, gleaming brightly against the streams of golden shaft through the impartially colored small round window just above it. 

  
His question halted me on my ritual. Yes, we are entirely transported to a different world, nonetheless, we are still on Earth. However, could it be that we are placed in an entirely different plane of universe? Perhaps, a parallel universe that lives in fantasy, though for them, is their own reality? Could H.G Well's novel be similar to our current predicament? 

  
_Goodness, nanodayo._

  
Shaking my head, I proceeded towards the room, checking on my personal things that had been offered to us, since we only arrived with our lone school uniforms. I could only master the exasperation whirling within me as I find Kise slothfully amusing himself with my lucky item, a caricature frog carved out of pure Jade. It was heralded to me by my ancestors as a family heirloom and was my lucky item since yesterday, before the plight had brought us in such a bizarre world. 

  
"Kise, what exactly are you doing, nanodayo?" I ask in a crisp tone. 

  
"Nothing! It's just interesting how it glows against the golden light! I wonder if this is pure Jade-ssu?" he ask, gawking around the curious artifact. 

  
"I am not going to indulge myself in your procrastination, Kise. It will do you good if you prepare yourself. We stank of dust now that I realized it. How can there be a lot of dust here in such a spotless place, nanodayo?" 

  
Hastily, I turn round my heel, not waiting for his reply as my flesh starts to itch. A cool water soaking and clearing my aching body would clear me from all these strange brooding and perhaps, set my mind to think logically. 

  
No sooner had I begun to enter the cool threshold of clean and chamomile-scented water had I distinctively heard a clamor outside. It was akin to a glass shattered into pieces, scattering all over the hard, cold and white floor. 

  
_Oh! Kise!_ I inwardly groan, rolling my eyes as I slip out of my clothes, folding them neatly down by the gravel sink. 

  
Slowly, I settle myself down on the ivory white bathtub, whisking away the trivial things swirling in my mind. The tepid water caressing my whole body salves my aching joints, pleasure tenderly wraps itself around me. Immersing myself to the calmness breathing upon my whole body, I close my eyes, savoring the silence after the suspicious noise. 

  
_Hopefully, Kise did not do something stupid to my -_

  
Quickly snapping my eyes open, I surge on my feet. Hurriedly pass towards the gravel sink, snatching the rolled towel and hands spasmodically wrapping my lower part, slamming open the damn white door. 

  
"Kise! What have you done to my - " 

  
Only silence greeted my outcry. The bed lay open empty. There were no traces of broken glass lying on the white floor, indicating of the earlier noise I heard. But thank goodness! The Jade frog - which is my family heirloom is on its usual spot, unscathed and whole. However, the blond is nowhere to be found. 

  


"Oh my goodness, nanodayo..." I utter softly. No sooner had I cast my eyes down that I found a lone white feather lying on the floor.

  


  


* * *

* * *

  


  


  
_**"Kise is gone?!"**_

  
A loud slap suddenly silenced the rowdy hall, a handful pair of eyes immediately crane their necks onto us, throwing curios gaze with arching eyebrows. 

  
"Oi! Akashi! Why did you suddenly slapped me?! I noticed that you're habitually doing that since the earthquake at Academia - " 

  
Another slap like a fly caught between two hands sends a ripple of silence in the hollow cloister, bathed in the golden warmth of the sun streaming through the clear glass window. The crowd sweeps their curios eyes at us once more, amusement sparkling in them as they await for another freak show at our stead. 

  
"Tetsu! W - Why did you suddenly slap me like that?! Did I ever do something wrong to you?!" cried Aomine, holding out his swelling ruddy right cheek as he stares in disbelief at my companion. 

  
"I apologize, Aomine-kun, I cannot allow Seijuuro-kun to repeat his mistake," Tetsuya speaks with his unflustered voice, staring back at him with a vacant gaze. 

  
"Please tone down your voice, Aomine," I breathed out, clutching my temple with my hand. Tetsuya gives me a concerned a look, Midorima sighs inwardly. Murasakibara could only yawn at the morning sun and Aomine brushes his aching cheek. 

  
"He could just be monkeying around as usual," Aomine starts, snorting. However, Midorima shakes his head, turning to us with anxiety glinting in his emerald green eyes. "No, this time is different. I clearly heard something before he vanished. maybe he was - " 

  
Rolling his eyes, Aomine waves his hand across Midorima. "Jesus Christ! Stop being such a pessimistic nag, four eyes!" Midorima sharply turns to him, a sour painful look dawning his face as he sets a grim line on his lips. 

  
"We will need to look for him. We cannot be separated in such a strange place as this, no, to be precise - world," I said, of which I received their response with a brief nod from each of them. 

  
"So, shall we begin to look for him, then?" Tetsuya begins stolidly. "Then we will do it by pair. Tetsuya, you will come with me," I said, stepping beside him. The remaining three exchanged puzzled looks, apprehension clouding their eyes.

  
"So, then," Murasakibara starts, casting a sidelong glance towards me. "The three of us will go toge - " 

  
"What seems to be the problem, young lads from the strange land called Japan?" 

  
A deep clear voice suddenly pulled us from our rendezvous. Slowly, we scatter from our circle, turning to face the bulky-built, dark brown head Sir Kiyoshi Teppei. A wide grin splaying across his face, followed nimbly by his companion the jet-black haired Sir Izuki Shun. 

  
"We are looking for our companion - he - he vanished this morning, nanodayo," Midorima gibbers. Sir Kiyoshi quickly casts an oblique gaze at his companion, his face turns serious in a transitory manner. 

  
"Your companion?" Sir Izuki steps forward, sweeping us with his eagle-like gaze, brightening as he realized the odd number. "You mean the blond, then." Sir Kiyoshi then gives a hard nod to him, before returning to us. "Then, we shall look for him by twos. Izuki, call the student-knights and ask for their assistance. I assume they know the face of Sir Kise, right?" 

  
The companion knight nods, quickly turning round on his heel as he walks at the east hall, passing along crowds that gape at the sudden motion. Soon, Sir Kiyoshi turns to us. "Do you lads still remember your way here?" We bob our heads in answer, responding to his inquiry. "Well then, if you have already your pick - " 

  
"We already have, Sir. Midorima here will gladly join you in the search," Aomine sharply cuts in which earned him a hard look from Midorima, who is in the verge of throwing tantrums. "Then, that's better, lad!" his face is flush of a bright color, slapping Midorima's back hard, causing the latter to gag in astonishment. _Such a convenient pair, Aomine._ I thought before turning to Tetsuya. "I will go with Tetsuya." 

  


  


* * *

* * *

  


  


The whole knight quarter was in commotion, drawing more ears and mouths to share their own account of the astonishing surreal incident last night. Casting my weary look upon these bright-eyed fellows endlessly utter gibberish talks, I could only groan in pure distress as it strain my ears to no end. 

  
The Captain Hyuga had given us the liberty to heal our mortal body from the flight. Now, free from the trammels of chivalry, I lay indolently in the makeshift of a listener instead of the fight that I should have been hankering about. How soon was it that it slipped from my fingers as if the fine grains of sand of the hourglass?! Silently, I nurse my inner disappointment, however, things got far worse as I find myself in the sea of rumormongers exchanging bootless talks. 

  
_"They were called the Travelers_ /" 

  
_"The Travelers? From where? What Kingdom?"_

  
_"From an unknown realm. But I have a hunch!"_

  
_"Tell me about it!"_

  
_"They might be spies from Kirisaki Daichi! You can't trust strangers nowadays!"_

  
_"What bull!? High King Kagetora will immediately sense if they are enemies or not!"_

  
_"Then, where did they come from?!"_

  
_Travelers!_ I derisively snorts, tugging myself up from the wooden chair. 

  
The talks drifted along like the distant rushing spring as I amble my way towards the arching doorway. Passing the lone cloister of the High Palace of King Kagetora, my heart is soon seized of a frisson of nostalgia at the chance that was soon gone. _How sudden it comes and then leaves like a ghost!_ My heart bemoans, casting a tormented eye on the immaculate pearly white ancient walls starkly gleam as the honey shafts of light fell in. 

  
_It would have been my chance to prove to Tatsuya how wrong he is!_ Dark thoughts soon pulled me into the past, a sliver of pain soon raptures my heart, that I walk aimlessly along the forsaken gallery. And add insult to my injury are those nonsensical talkers! The cause of this failure! 

  
_Quite the indolence. And here we are with nothing to do, but to idle away with trash talking._ I wryly thought, turning around when a strange animal flew straight at me, almost slammed my face, however, with great dexterity I am able to block its sudden attack. 

  
"W-What the hell - " 

  
_"Bwak-bwak-bak! Bwak-bwak-bwak!"_

  
Carefully, I turn to my hands and only to find a white plump hen clucking boisterously in the cloister, its golden amber eyes gawking at my sight. It suddenly beats its wide feathery wings, quaking its lithe body then out of the blue, pecks its sharp beak at my thumb. 

  
"W - Why you - !?" I howl in utter pain, however, before I could fully regain, I have vapidly unfetter the wild thing from my hand, causing it to loosely bolt towards the Inner Palace. 

  
_For the love of the Goddess! Of all the places that you can go, not there, you chicken!_

  
I wildly thought, darting after it as if this chase puts my life on the line. 

  
"Come back here, chicken!" 

  


  


* * *

* * *

  


  


_"A chicken feather?"_

  
Seijuuro-kun ambles beside me, quietly knitting his brows at the sight of a common article lying on the cobblestone. Ahead of us lay the cloudless sky, bluer and richer beyond compare. The wind breathed its soft gust, rustling the scrawny wraith-like branches of clustered Birch trees just across the cobble yard. Beyond it lies the dark rolling green hills, greener and opulent than any lushes I have set my eyes before. 

  
This contrast could be the result of the disparity of a novel Time and Space that we are in now. Drawing in its rich air engulfing my lungs, I watch the distant blue mountains cloaked in smoky mist, appearing as if a silvery ghost under the brazen warmth of the golden sun. 

  
"They say chickens are staple grub exclusive for their carnivorous pets," Seijuuro-kun speaks, turning his eyes towards the distant blue mountains veiled in mist. 

  
"How can they easily hunt Eagles and Hawks for their Thanksgiving Day so easily?" I pondered pensively, putting my fingertips upon my lips.

  
"Well, it is more like turning black to white," slowly, he stoops down, gathering the white streak of feather lying idly against the stark cobble, before straightening his back. "Tetsuya, where do you think Kise is? Do you have any thoughts?" he ask, a smile on his lips foreshadow the thoughts now playing inside his mind. 

  
Turning to him, I could only drew a sharp air, knitting my brows as I hammer my head with the earlier accounts. "Midorima-kun said that Kise-kun had been in the room before he proceeded with bathing. In the duration of the time he spent inside the bathroom, he heard a loud crashing noise, however, when he stormed out, he did not find any traces of burglary - or a shard of glass scattered on the ground."

  
"However, he did say he found a feather," he continues, holding up the article aloft. "Just a single feather in a spotless room. Nothing was stolen and no brittle objects lay broken on the floor. What could it suggest? What do you think, Tetsuya?" he paces forward, quietly studying the feather under his scrutinizing eyes. 

  
"Seijuuro-kun, you cannot be serious about this. Are you, perhaps - thinking that a chicken spirited Kise-kun away to the Otherworld?" I ask trying to stifle the laughter spilling from my lips, however, he swiftly turns to me with an illumine face. 

  
"Quite a close deduction, Tetsuya," he said, ascending to mirth upon my words. "Seijuuro-kun, you are being ridiculous." 

  
"Tetsuya, remember we are in a different world. A lot of things can happen. I fear that, perhaps, what you've said is true," I could only return his grin with a frown, trying to make sense of our current plight. "I refuse to believe this. Kise-kun might have just gone out, accidentally knocked out something fragile outside their room and is currently lost on his way back." 

  
"Well," slowly, he gathers a handful of air, turning around the feather on his right hand. "There are a lot of points in this mystery, however, if we carefully think and look at the details, the possibility that Kise vanished inside the room is big." 

  
"And we are left of this mystery now. Leaving us only with a feather as a clue," I added, turning towards the cloister teeming of student-knights passing back and forth, throwing queer looks at us. "Should we ask them about this? I think it will be good to gather information from these people, Seijuuro-kun," I said, turning round to face him deep in thought, his chin resting on his right hand. 

  
"Tetsuya, by the way, can you still recall the time when we first arrived here?" he asks out of the blue, piquing my curiosity at his inquiry. "You mean at that vast Arena in the midst of the two gladiators? Why? What is the relation of that to Kise's disappearance?"

  
However, my questions were left hanging in the air as he perks up from his reverie, quickly tuning to me with excitement beaming in his scarlet eyes. "Tetsuya, I think we will need to visit Kise and Midorima's room. We need to gather clues there if we want to learn the truth," he said, swiftly grabbing my hand, dragging me along with him as we dart towards the cloister. 

  
_How long has it been since I last saw that glow in those scarlet eyes?_ I ask, however the smile breaks forth the inner joy glowing within me as I watch his lithe form and his wide frame. My heart quietly flutters at his very sight. 

  


  


* * *

* * *

  


  


_No... It can't be. How is it possible?_

  
However, my eyes were not playing tricks on me. There is no sleight-of-hand - there is no one who can equal him, not even the other Gods. 

  
Noiselessly, I stealthily creep among the scattering shadows cluttered under the canopies of Birch Trees, uniting myself with the darkness as I slither behind him. _So, you must have been reborn to another world? Taking refuge to your alternate?_

  
Softly, like the molten and boiling lava underneath the solid mantle of the Earth, my chest swells of exultation, of purpose and of reason. Finally, I am able to see you after so many years. No matter who are you, even if you are in a distant star, I have always been true to you. So allow me to call you by your new name.. 

  
_"Tetsuya..."_

  


  


  


* * *

* * *

  


  


_That damn chicken! How could it move so fast when it had been so easy for me to catch it in my usual hunting!?_

  
Quietly striding the halls of the Inner Palace chasing after the wild chicken, I cannot be more ashamed as my fellow student-knights gawked at me with leering glints in their lecherous eyes. _Damnation!_ Curling my hands into fist, I pursue the culprit of my plight with brazen pride, glowering hard at the white plump creature scampering along the hall. 

  
_Wait 'till I catch you, chicken! I shall feed you to the High King's lions!_

  
Suddenly, it curves its way to the West Wing, a private part of the Inner Palace where guests are taken to take their comforts and rest. And speaking of guests, the _Travelers_ , or so they claim to be.

  
I am immediately halted in my flight as I stand face to face with these two _kids_ , the first one with crimson locks and keen scarlet eyes quickly throws me an aloof gaze, and his other companion with a peacock blue mane standing erectly behind him, staring vacantly upon my appearance.

  
I was dumb for a minute, gawking at these two strange, and yet handsome person before me. How should I elaborate this? I could only say that it is beyond comprehension. It feels as if an unseen force has immediately grab me, pulling me towards these two lads that do not possessed remarkable height, though I must say that they are quite attractive indeed. 

  
While in my reverie, the plump hen had bolted its way towards these handsome strangers, immediately flapping its wings and flies straight at the lad with peacock blue mane, who seemed calm and welcomed it on his hands. There, it stood quiet, satisfied and happy. _That bastard chicken!_

  
"You chicken! Come here!" I hiss between gritted teeth, the anger in me now is more than I could bear. 

  
"Are you going to feed this poor creature to the noble's pet?" the peacock blue head softly inquires, casting a glassy stare upon me. "Feed him?" I echo, quite taken aback by his words, blinking my eyes before this person, who seemed to know what I am about to do with the chicken. Is he some kind of a mind reader? 

  
"Then, why are you chasing him? Are they not allowed in the palace?" this time, the one with crimson locks ask. "Well..." I could only scratch my head, quite confuse now of my goal upon their questions thrown at me. Should I tell them the truth? That indeed, I wish it to be fed to the lions? 

  
"One chicken is not a problem, however, if a clump of them would start running inside the palace, leaving their dumps all over, then, that is indeed a big problem," I said, however, I could have sworn the glare cast at me by that hen, who seemed to really enjoy being seated at the hands of the peacock blue head. 

  
The two could only nod in agreement. Soon, the crimson head turns to his companion, whose eyes suddenly seemed to cloud in contempt at the sight of the hen happily roosting itself in the hands of his companion. "Tetsuya, are you close to chickens?" 

  
"No, Seijuuro-kun. This is actually the first time that I am holding a chicken, though, I must say it is kind of weird how it brushes its head on me," the peacock blue head named Tetsuya said, returning the same blank gaze. 

  
"Though I must say strangely that it suddenly makes me irritated to see that chicken, Tetsuya," the crimson head speaks in a level tone, whose named is Seijuuro, scarlet eyes sizzle of disdain at the plump hen. _Don't tell me, he's envious of the chicken?! And why would he be envious?_

  
Shaking my head, I could only draw in a lungful of air, dismissing this idiotic manner of thinking before these two _Travelers_. 

  
"May we know your name?" the Traveler Seijuuro ask out of the blue. 

  
_For goodness' sake, Taiga!? You're being rude to these two, forgetting your manners!_

  
"Forgive me my rudeness, I am called Kagami Taiga, a bonafide student-knight of Seirin Kingdom. I also would like to apologize of my harsh behavior last night. I - I was startled to find strangers in the midst of my fight, you see," I said remorsefully. 

  
"We must apologize as well. It was not our intention to appear right in the middle of your battle," the crimson head responds with a genuine smile glowing on his face. "However, my name is Akashi Seijuuro and this one beside me is Kuroko Tetsuya, he is my - " the peacock head immediately throws him a meaningful look, causing the former to stop, a ghostly smirk playing on his lips before returning my puzzlement with an apologetic smile. 

  
"We are all six that have had arrived here. You will, perhaps, meet them shortly as we are occupied in a serious business," he said.

  


  
**_...to be continued._**

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **This is purely a Fan Fiction. Kuroko no Basket is not my property, and neither do the characters under it.**  
>  The story takes place in an entirely different universe. I merely choose the characters that, for me, would suit the story. Please enjoy the different setting and scenery. If you have any thoughts regarding the story, please feel free to leave your professional  
> commentaries.


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